Sinister star Ethan Hawke stars in a new futuristic crime thriller called The Purge, which comes to us from director James DeMaonaco who is the screenwriter of films such as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Negotiator. Universal Pictures has released a synopsis for the film giving us our first details of what the story will be about, and it sounds freakin' intense!
If on one night every year, you could commit any crime without facing consequences, what would you do? In The Purge, a speculative thriller that follows one family over the course of a single night, four people will be tested to see how far they will go to protect themselves when the vicious outside world breaks into their home. In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity—including murder—becomes legal. The police can’t be called. Hospitals suspend help. It’s one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking. When an intruder breaks into James Sandin’s (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide.
This is a crazy story and a great concept that should prove to make for an awesome movie. To live in a world were murder is legal is simply terrifying. That's a world that would be incredibly difficult to be a part of, and I'm interested in seeing how it will be portrayed in the film.
The movie was produced by Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister), Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (The Amityville Horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The Purge also stars Lena Headey, Rhys Wakefield, Max Burkholder and Adelaide Kane, and is set to be released on May 31st, 2013.
What do you think about this story concept?